Starting device for internal-combustion engines



N. HERZMARK STARTING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINS May 19, 1925.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 5, 1920 2 .gli d INVENTOR NlCoLn HER'Z/w/cww` BKH-rm Mw HTTORNEKL Patented May 19, 1,925,-l

.U-NiTEojs-TATES.'PATENT OFFICE.

' N IooLAs HERZMARK, or rims, Finance.

STARTING ICE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Application mea Agust 5, 1920. serial' 100.401,351.

can be mounted directlyV upon any such engine and reproduces by its method of operation the actiorrof the crank or`ha ndle usually employed for starting these4 engines.

It ycomprisesI essentiallyv a piston with screw-threaded piston-rod, which by a small longitudinal movement can enter into engagement lwith the end of the crank shaft or of 'a shaft connected theretoand e cylinder forming or integrally secured toa nut which fits the screw-threaded rod, the said cylinder being/free to travel longitudinally but prevented from revolving in relation to the engine base.y This cylinder is connected at one-*end toa source ol'fcompressed gas, an air cylinder or the like, so that whencompressed air is admitted to the cylinder, there is first producee'ka longitudinal displacement 0 of the piston which encounters no resistance,

guides; this displacement continues until the end of the piston-rod provided with a suitconvenient arrangement may be employed as able jaw-clutch or like device comes into engagement with the other member of the clutch carried bythe engine crank shaft.

. From this movement onwards, the piston is no longer free to-tra-vel longitudinally, and .therefore the. cylinder trayels along its guides, but since it is restrained from turn- 40 through the nut formedor carried by the cylinder and thus revolves, carryingsround the engine shaft with it. It is to be noted greater resistance thanfthat offered by the friction lof-the cylinderguides, which fric- 5()l vice for internal combustion engines, which Y while the cylinder remains stationary in its,

ing, the screw-threaded piston-rod screws f tion may be reduced as low `as possible, it is gagement.` Since the cylinder is arranged to travel longitudinally, it is necessary to connect v1t to the source of ncompressed gas Teither by a flexible pipe or by a telescopic tube and stuiing box device, or by any other suitable means for thevpurpose. i"

This starting'mechanism may be mounted directly in pla'ce of the starting crank on any automobile vehicle, it being only necessary ,65 to secure the'cylinder guides uponihe'front ycross-member of the frame and to fasten.

the ratchet-toothed clutch'member Aupon thew end of thescrew-threaded piston-rod which is cut to the requiredilength.

. In order, however, to allow the useof the ordinary starting handle for rrevolving the engine shaft in ,certain cases, for example' for adjusting the engine,y the cylinder guides are mounted in such away that` they may be A removedor withdrawn, so as to 'allow the4 vcylinderrto be freed in relation to the-cylin-v der-` basefthen by .fitting a .crank handle upon the end ,of the cylinder, which is constructed to receive the same,.the engine may 8 0 be cranked or started by hand with the ordinary starting handle, with the difference that the mechanism acts as a devicefor preventing kicking of the crank due to back# i fires. It is', of course, necessary first to dis-.$5

connect the pipe supplying the compressed gasto the cylinder. i'

A compressed air cylinder or any other source of the compressed gas.

Two forms of construction of-/the invention are represented upon the accompanying. drawing, but it will be understoodthat these are merely examples, to which theinvention is in no respect limited.

Figure 1 is a plan of the first yform of construction: ,of the mechanism,l partly in e axial longitudinal section. Figure 2 is anv end View ofthe apparatus shown in Figurel. i 'l Figure 3 is an axial longitudinal section `ola second form of construction.

innige.

The'v piston oz-v is-jprovided with acup the cylinder whichyie'lds and' moves awayieather or bucket@1 secured by a washer a2 D 55 cursimmediately afresh longitudinal move` nient of the piston which restores the enl and ascrew a". The piston rod b, is provided with av number of/screw threads 'b1 of .very quick pitch. The unthreaded tenel b2 11.0-

of the-rod carries one member of the cou a plin'g which engages the crank shaft o, for

example, a ratchet-toothed awl clutch b3, while the crankshaft c'carries the usual driving or 'Cotter pin c1.'

The piston a is adapted to travel within 5 la. cylinder d closedat its front end by a `threaded portion 51 of the piston rod.

coverd1 and at'its rear end by a nut d2 into and through which is screwed the z The cylinder is furnished -upon its outer surface with longitudinal grooves or guide- .ways d3 for preventing the cylinder from revolving but allowing it to travel longitudinally, remaining lin* engagement` with lugs or projections e1 which are secured `,15 upon the'engine base or other stationary partf. These lugs may be carried, forexample, upon a plate e which isfixedfupon A,the ,front cross-members dy" of the frame,

when the mechanism is installed upon a motor vehicle. The Jj orog'ections e1`instead the? plate e, the latches being normally of being integralwith the plate e are each formedby a kindlfof bolt or latch mounted upon a pin e2 in a knuckle e3 provided on locked by split pins e4. By removing these pins e, itis .possible to free thelatches e1 nl) tion to the` vehicle -frame.v

from the; grooves da and thus to release the cylinder, allowing it to turn in [rela- It will be `understood that the guide device described and shown may be replaced by any .other suitable 'a1-rangement. l

\ The c linder cover Z1 is provided with a port l which allows communication be- "Y -tween theforward end of the cylinder-and 0 lor other suitable oontrivances'...

" squared shank a source of compressed gas, either by means of a flexible pipe, by one tube telescoping within another by means of a stuiin box, by tubes hinged .together with knee-loints,

5 remains stationary. At the same time the piston revolves'slightly, butl this travel is very short because the ,coupling jaw b3 enters almost at once into engagement with the cotter pin c? upon the crankshaft. This initial movement corresponds to the inward motion handle v:for engaging it Awith the crankshaft.I Hereafter the'pistoi is prevented from moving axially butv is free to revolve,

` provided Ait rotates the crank-shaft with it. The cylinder now nbegins to travel'endgiven to the ordinary starting.

wise, v of its guides, and moving axially in the overcoming the frictional resistance direction of the arrow 1y.. The piston is thereby caused to revolve, rotating the en- I l gine in the same manner as the ordinary starting crank.

By admitting compressed air to the other i side of the piston, while the forward side is connected to the exhaust by a suitable valve, slide or-other distributor, the cylinder `and piston arebrought back to their .Y

initial position. Alternatively, as has been stated before, a spring may be employed to produce the same efectl f ln order to startthe engine by hand, it uis only necessary to withdraw the projections el, firstI removing-the split pins e4 and turning the latches around, their pivots,

and then to lit a crank-handle upon the square d5. The mechanism then acts as a means for preventing kicking of the crank due to back-fires.

' The apparatus may be, applied not only to motor vehicles engines, butalso to engines of other types which require a startdevie, Diesel or semi-Diesel engines, gas engines and the like.

Figure?, represents in axial section an-f4 other form of construction of the apparatus, which differs from the first in that it comprises two movable pistons inside a stationary cylinder; one lof said pistons is integral with the screw and serves asin v'the previous example by a slight longitudinal movement to engage the jaw coupling of the apparatus with ythe crank- Jshaft, and the second piston which carries the cylindrical nut then moves under the action of the expansive gasv as to revolve the screw and thus start the engine.

The piston a is integral with'or secured to the screw b which is hollowed out inter'- nally; the piston g is integral with or secured to the cylinder d, carrying at its bottom end the nut d'2 in which the screw b is engaged. The pistons a and g are guided in an air-tight manner within a stationary cylinder h, having an orifice 71.1 through whichthe gases can be admitted to the space between the two pistons VThe piston a is revoluble within the cylinder h but can move longitudinally therein only toa small ex- .tent, just suiiicientto engage the couplingjaw (not shown) which is mounted on the shaft b2, into engagement with the vengine shaft (also not shown). The cylinder d is prevented from revolving in relation to the fixed cylinder l1. by means of longitudinal groovesd3 formed on its outer surface and b feathers `i, integral with a ring 1 provi ed at its upper part, with the ratchet teeth i2 engaging lwithr corresponding teeth h? carried by the cylinder (see Fig. 4). These teethare directed in such a way that they allow-the ring 1 to revolve fr0m right 1,5as,7oo

pto left but. oppose its rotation from left to right. A-spring la bearing against a cover.

Zscrewed upon the cylinder h tends to maintainthe teethkzand i? in constant engage` ment. A coiled spring m located inside the screw b I is attached at one `extremitypto the lower en d of this screw and atpits other extremity to the top of the cylinder d, tend-- ing to maintain the two pistons a. and? g constantly in contact. The cylinder d carries at its upper end a -plug all adapted to y receive a starting crank when it is desired to start the engine' by hand. The cover l is provided internally with a throat or groove Z1, within which, when the apparatus is at rest, .there is engaged a plate' spring d carried by the cylinder d and so. shaped that itis lnecessary, to exert-a certain force in order to displace thecylinderd either -in- 2o wards or outwards, e

The` operation of the' mechanism is an,l alogousto thatofl the device 'previously described.

Gas under pressure being admitted' at h1 between-the two pistons, irst pushes Idown the piston a which is fast .to the screw b,"

this piston revolves with the shaft b2', advancing' to an extent just sufficient to bring the Ljaw carried by the crank shaft b2 into engagement with the engine shaft. I-Ieref` after the piston g in its turn moves endwise Cil with --the cylinder d andnut d2', but since the cylinder d cannot revolve vin relation to the cylinder k becausel the teeth i? k2y oppose the tendency of the.` ring @I to revolve from left to right, it merelyy travels longitudinally and rotates the screwfwhich thus turns the engine.A `When the admission of com-` pressed gas is shut olf, the two pistons resume'ltheir initial position under the action of the spring m. i

`-In order to crank the engine by hand, it isonl .necessary to fit a .crank handle upon the piilg d1, to push inwards as usual, and :to turn the crank. Since thisrotation ,is

from right to-left, theteeth 2 upon the ring i are able to slipover the teeth hz,

so' that the crank isfallowed to rotatethe wholef group composedof the screwh b, the ring il, the cylinderd, and ther pistons a' and g, thus turning the crank-shaft of the engine; 'f i t What Ir claim iszfv 1. A starting device for `internal combusvtion-engines n'and 'n the like, comprising a' rotatable member susceptible of slight longitudinal displacement, a screw secured to sald member, a nut engaglng sald screw, a fj second member fast with said nut and longitudinally displaceable in a direction oppo site to that of the kirst mentionedvmember,

means for admittingcompressed gases be-l I l tween said movable members, means for re'- turning b oth members against one another, and means for coupling the. rotatable .and

,longitudinally displaceable member with the engine shaft.

2. A starting device for internal combusi tion engines and the like, comprisinga pis-` ton susceptible of a rotary movement and ofy a slight longitudinal displacement, a` screwsecured to said piston, a nut engaging saidscrew, a second piston fast with said lnut and longitudinally displaceable in a direction opposite to that of the rst mentioned piston, a. stationary cylinder for both 'pistons, means forjlongitudinally guiding screw secured tosaid piston, a nut engaging said screw, a'second piston fastwith said l.nut andlongitudinally displaceable in -a direction opposite to thatof the first mentioned` piston, a stationary cylinder for both pistons, means for longitudinally guiding the first piston in said cylinder, means for 'admitting compressed gases between both'V pistons, vspring means for returning both pistons' against one another, and means for coupling the stem of they screw to the engine shaft, together with means. for engaging a starting crank with the longitudinally displaceable first piston, and lreleasable clutch,m'ea nsl between the guide means of said piston and the stationary cylinder, for 1 the purpose described.

In 'testimony whereof-I have signed my i name to this specification. 

